Reinforcement With Anchors

GEO-SLOPE International Ltd, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
www.geo-slope.com
Reinforcement with Anchors

1
Introduction
The purpose of this example is to show how anchor reinforcement is accommodated in a stability
analysis. The example file makes use of the following SLOPE/W functionality:
Anchor reinforcement;
Distribution of the pullout forces across many slices;
Inclusion of a shear force.
Configuration and setup
Figure 1 shows the model configuration, soil properties, and entry/exit ranges. All slip surfaces are
forced to exit at the toe of the slope. The Draw | Reinforcement command was used to incorporate the
anchor reinforcements within the domain. The four cases include:
1. Stability analysis with no anchor reinforcement;
2. Stability analysis that includes anchor reinforcement;
3. Distribution of the anchor pullout forces across multiple slices;
4. Inclusion of a shear force.
SLOPE/W Example File: Reinforcement with anchors.doc (pdf) (gsz)
Page 1 of 10
www.geo-slope.com
Figure 1 Geometry and soil properties
Case 1 Stability without reinforcement
The factor of safety for the unsupported face is 0.965 (Figure 1).
Page 2 of 10
www.geo-slope.com
Figure 2 Critical factor of safety and slip surface without reinforcement
Case 2 Stability with reinforcement
Figure 3 shows the reinforcement parameters for case 2. The specified pullout resistance is 300 kPa,
resistance reduction factor () 1.5, bond diameter () 1/ meters, grouted (bond) length 3 m, and
spacing () in the out-of plane direction 2 m. The tensile capacity () was specified as 180 kN with a
reduction factor () of 2. The factored pullout resistance () per length of grouted section behind
the slip surface is calculated from the specified pullout resistance () as:
1
(
()
)
=
=
= 100( )/
()
1.5(2)
300
The maximum pullout force must not exceed the factored tensile capacity :
=
2000
=
= 667
() 1.5(2)
which is not possible in this case since there is only 3 m of grouted length.
Page 3 of 10
www.geo-slope.com
Figure 3 Reinforcement parameters
Figure 4 shows the critical factor of safety and slip surface. The factor of safety is 1.337. The maximum
pullout force was governed by the factored pullout resistance and is therefore calculated from the
available length of 3.0 m (View | Object Information) as:
= () = 100
(3.0 ) = 300
per meter in the out-of-plane dimension. Both red boxes are inside the end of the anchor indicating that
the entire grouted sections are behind the slip surface.
Page 4 of 10
www.geo-slope.com
Figure 4 Critical factor of safety and slip surface
Figure 5 and Figure 6 show the free body diagram and force polygon for Slices 12 and 22 that are
intersected by the upper and lower anchors, respectively. The free body diagrams show the pullout force
of 300 kN concentrated at the base of the slices.
Page 5 of 10
www.geo-slope.com
Figure 5 Free body diagram and force polygon of slice 12
Figure 6 Free body diagram and force polygon of slice 22
View | Object information can be used to view the inputs and calculations for each individual anchor
(Figure 7). The governing component for both anchors is indicated as the (factored) pullout resistance
(versus the tensile capacity).
Page 6 of 10
www.geo-slope.com
Figure 7 Details of the upper anchor obtained via View | Object Information
Figure 8 shows the shear resistance along the slip surface (Draw | Graph). The shear resistance spikes at
slices 12 and 22 where the pullout forces are concentrated.
Page 7 of 10
www.geo-slope.com
Figure 8 Shear resistance along slip surface
Case 3 Distributed pullout force
SLOPE/W gives the following options for positioning the pullout force of an anchor on the free body:
1. Concentrated at the base the slice intersected by the reinforcement; and,
2. Distributed (i.e. apportioned) to the slices intersected by the reinforcement.
The distribution option generally has a negligible influence on the results; however, the results can differ
if the pullout force is large and/or convergence is jeopardized. In the latter case, convergence can
sometimes be improved by distributing the pullout force to multiple slices.
Figure 7 shows the critical slip surface and factor of safety if the pullout force is distrusted. The factor of
safety is now 1.262 and the shear resistance is distributed across the intersected slices (compare Figure 8
with Figure 9). The pullout force of the top anchor has been distributed over the 26 slices that are
intersected between the base of the slice and the wall. As such, the pullout force on a single slice is equal
to:
300
= 14.29
21
and on the 10 slices that also intersect the lower anchor:

300
300
+
= 44.29
21 10
Page 8 of 10
www.geo-slope.com
Figure 7 Critical factor of safety and slip surface with uniform distributed anchor load
Figure 9 Shear resistance along slip surface
Page 9 of 10
www.geo-slope.com
Case 4 Anchor shear force
SLOPE/W allows the simulation of a shear force in the anchor bar. In this case, the bottom anchor is
assumed to have a shear force of 50 kN and a shear reduction factor of 2. The applied shear force is 25
kN, which causes an increase in the factor of safety. The shear force can be seen on the free body
diagram for the intersected slice (View | Slice Information).
Page 10 of 10

Reinforcement With Anchors

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Reinforcement With Anchors

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

GEO-SLOPE International Ltd, Calgary, Alberta, Canada